Traditionally, neckties, both standard (club) and pre-folded (clip-on) versions, are manufactured using three distinctly different, separate fabric components: the shell; an interlining; and the lining used in the tips. The shell fabric is the patterned material intended to be visible when the necktie is being worn. The interlining provides shape, body and stability to the necktie. The lining used in the tips, or the tipping material, is generally a lighter fabric which is used to bind the ends of the shell around the interlining.
The shell fabric provides the color and pattern for the tie. It can be made of almost any material including, for example, polyester, silk, wool, or blends of these materials. Historically, limitations regarding choice of shell fabric were mainly considerations of sufficient strength, durability, finished appearance, and a lack of a tendency to fray upon cutting of the material. The shell of a necktie is typically (but not necessarily) made from three pieces--the broad end, the narrow end and a middle piece--that are sewn together end-to-end, alternating the bias of the material, to form the complete shell. The multi-piece, alternate-bias construction helps minimize the potential for twisting of the necktie material.
The interlining serves as the structural "backbone" of the product. It typically has been made of wool or wool blends, woven or knitted. An interlining may be formed from more than one interliner ply placed on top of one another and usually stitched or tacked to each other.
The tipping material is visible from the back, or bottom, of a finished product. It is typically made of acetate or polyester taffeta. In a standard necktie, for example, there is usually one piece of tipping at the broad end of the tie, and one piece of tipping at the narrow end of the tie, each tipping closing off the respective end of the tie.
When the necktie is fully assembled, the interlining is hidden by the shell and the tipping material, which together form a complete cover over the interlining. The tipping closes the ends of the completed tie, giving it a finished look and keeping the interlining from being exposed or from sliding out if the stitch holding the interlining to the underside of the shell fabric were to break.
During the typical process of constructing a necktie in this manner, the three components are separately spread and cut from bulk goods to a pre-determined size and shape. For example, six interlinings may be cut simultaneously from a piece of fabric, using a single template for six identical pieces placed across the fabric. Similarly, shells and tipping are spread and cut. Then, the interlining for a single tie is carefully stitched or tacked in place to the assembled shell for the same tie. If the interlining is more than one ply, sometimes those plies would separately be tacked or stitched together before the interlining is connected to the shell. The tipping material for that tie is then stitched to the shell, enclosing the interlining and closing the ends of the tie to give the tie a finished look, and to keep the interlining in place even if the interlining stitch breaks. The shape of the finished tie generally matches the shape of the interlining. The interlining provides the body and support for a standard tie to return to its original shape again and again, after each time it is used by being tied and then later untied.
Fusing has been used in the manufacture of articles of clothing for over twenty five years. Traditionally, parts that are fused are cut separately from the actual fusible material. Then, these parts are fused, or laminated, with a fusing press, resulting in a single unit. Fusing has typically been used in many parts of clothing, such as collars, cuffs, fronts, and pockets. In fact, almost all aspects or parts of clothing have used fused goods when particular body is desired for that piece of the finished product. Typically, parts of clothing which are desired to drape, rather than to have body or structure, have not been subject to fusing. Examples of such parts are sleeves and backs of clothing.
Lamination (though not fusing) could also refer to a similar process that involves only one ply of material, rather than two or more plies being overlayed and affixed. In that situation, one ply of material could be laminated by itself, coating the material completely or even coating the material with sporadic laminate, possibly in a pattern such as strips of laminate running across the material, often diagonally across the material's warp construction (i.e., the length of the fabric's construction).
But fusing and lamination had never been used in neckties. While fusing has been used, for example, in formal wear pre-knotted bow ties, such bow ties typically do not have an interlining and are constructed differently than standard or pre-folded neckties. In standard and pre-folded neckties, fusing and lamination has not been used, despite the fact that more efficient constructions are always desired in this particularly cost-conscious industry that is moving overseas more and more because of decreased labor and production costs in foreign countries.
The instant invention provides use of fusing in the construction of neckties, resulting in an easier and more economical construction of the finished product.